Click here to view the embedded video.

UBM TechWeb Game Network’s 2010 Game Developers Conference has announced an all-time record of 18,250 game industry professionals attending San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center for the March 9th-13th event – surpassing last year’s total of 17,000 attendees.

Following the success of the show, organizers of the Game Developers Conference have announced that GDC 2011 will return to the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco from Monday, February 28 to Friday, March 4, 2011, with a call for lecture submissions to open this summer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chuck Lacson, SCEA Associate Product Marketing Manager, announced via the PlayStation Blog that ModNation Racers, Sony’s upcoming kart racing game, will be available on both PlayStation 3 and PSP on May 25th, 2010.

Lacson also revealed the pre-order bonus for each retail in the U.S.:

• Pre-order from GameStop and get Kratos and his Kart of Chaos
• Pre-order from Amazon and get Ratchet or Clank
• Pre-order from Best Buy to get Nathan Drake and his Jungle Jeep

Each pre-order gets an additional bonus Mystery Mod and Kart package that include a special Mod and Kart and additional accessories that you can use to make your own creations.

Microsoft and developer Ruffian Games announced that Crackdown 2 will be available on July 9th, 2010. To celebrate the road to launch, Ruffian Games invites fans to step into the world of “Crackdown 2” in the first video documentary, titled Fun with Friends, from a three-part series exploring different facets of the game.

Fun with Friends features interviews with Ruffian Games Creative Director Billy Thomson, Producer James Cope, Senior Engineer David Hynd and Senior Mission Designer Dean Smith as they discuss what it takes to design a sandbox world with a 16-player PVP and 4-player co-op multiplayer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think it’s safe to say that when Infinity Ward released Modern Warfare it pretty much set the standard for quality other multi-player first person shooter titles should live up to. The game was the perfect mix of everything– though the campaign mode was rather short the multi-player mode definitely made up for it. Admittedly, I was one of those hyper fans who could not wait to see what Infinity Ward had in planned for us in Modern Warfare 2.

The wait is now over and MW2 has been out for quite some time. At first I loved the multi-player — it had me hooked,  and as stupid as it seems I was addicted to collecting those pointless trait badges. Then, after almost two whole weeks of Modern Warfare 2 action, it happened; I overdosed, or at least it really felt like I did. There was just something slightly off, something I cannot quite place my finger on- but there was something about MW2 that made me sick in the stomach — okay, perhaps it was the case of Mountain Dew I got with the game when it launched but even if that was the case I still felt I had experienced all Modern Warfare had to offer. I was done with the series.

I was back at the stage where I was jumping to-and-fro first person shooter games. I tried them all; Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Halo 3, and Flashpoint. There was still something missing. Each game certainly had something unique to offer but nothing that sold me. So, I put in Battlefield: Bad Company and got quite attached to it, but even that game needed and overhaul. MAG was definitely looking mighty tempting- I was having first person shooter withdrawals, so I had to pick up a MAG, even though I hated the beta (my beta impressions were wrong, I absolutely love the completed product). MAG re-introduced me to something that seemed to be missing from these type of games; team work and communication. I had a blast with MAG and my faith in the shooter was once again restored — but still, there was something missing.

I finally know what these games were missing, and here is the list: vehicles, destruction, team work, and whole Battlefield experience. First person shooters have just felt so shallow after the first Battlefield game was released. I have Batllefield 1942 to thank for some of my best LAN gaming days. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 comes the closest to delivering such an epic experience that the previous titles did, on console. I have been playing since it’s launch now and I am absolutely loving the online multi-player. It is, without a doubt, the CoD killer.

DICE did their homework. The controls and shooting mechanics were a bit goofy in the original Bad Company game- now it’s spot on, CoD lovers will feel right at home with these controls, it also helps that the hit-box is as precise as it can be. The graphics, physics, sound, and game-play dominate Modern Warefare in every way. There’s no reason why a a CoD veteran should not love Battlefield: Bad Company 2. It has everything MW2 has to offer, just better. Oh, and the ranking system is a little more logical; no silly ninja badges, here you get combat reward pins.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 towers over all the first person shooter games that are currently available on the console market, I dare even say Killzone 2. I am content with this game it’s not far from being the perfect first person shooter game. However, there are a few things DICE could do to spice things up a little. Here’s a short list:

• Cross squad/platoon chat.
• Assigned leadership roles.
• Add a proper clan system.
• Add a dynamic day/night system.

Little things like this could certainly add a lot to the experience. Perhaps we will see patches that include some of these features in the not too distant future.

What would do you think DICE could have included in Bad Company 2? You can go to our forums and let us know there. Who knows, maybe someone from DICE will read your post and be inspired.

Brian Fargo, Founder of inXile Entertainment:

“We are thrilled to be working with Bethesda Softworks on this upcoming release that takes us back to our roots. Bethesda’s track record speaks for itself and the game we are developing for them is no exception.”

Vlatko Andonov, President of Bethesda Softworks:

“inXile has an extremely talented team and we couldn’t be more pleased to have them working on one of our upcoming titles. We believe gamers will be really excited about what these guys have in store for them.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ever since Sony introduced online gaming to the PS2 way back in 2002 with it’s online gaming adaptor, one of Sony’s biggest selling points has been that online has always been free.  In the ever-raging fanboy war, Sony supporters have always had the word “free” as ammunition against Xbox users, and anytime a debate surfaced over which company’s service was better, PlayStation users could always say that their online gaming is free.

Now all of that is in jeopardy with Sony contemplating the introduction of a paid subscription service. Below is the chart of the four options Sony is thinking about implementing (click on it for a larger version of the image):

I understand the pros of each option, but I’m here to say that I think that implementing a paid service is a horrible move on Sony’s part.  Lets rewind back to late 2006 when the PS3 first launched.  It’s safe to say that it was pretty much a disaster of a launch with very little game support and shortages.  Over the next few years, the PS3 didn’t sell very well at all and was in last place by a long shot in the sales department.

Let’s look at Sony’s situation now; it’s VASTLY improved.  With quality titles like Little Big Planet, Killzone 2, the Uncharted series, and God of War on the way along with GT5 and potentially The Last Guardian this year, the PS3 is in a pretty good place.  It still hasn’t overtaken the 360, but there’s no denying that Sony has done a great job over the last couple of years to take out a chunk of the HUGE gap that it started with, which brings me to why I think a paid service is a horrible move for Sony, and comparable to losing a big name exclusive title.

Now that the PS3 has finally picked up some steam, introducing a paid subscription service would cause that momentum to come to a screeching halt.  I feel as though you can get a pretty good feel for what console has the most momentum by frequenting forums, as they provide a decent gauge because you can see what most people are talking about and what games people are the most excited for.  So why would you add something that would be viewed by the community as a negative into the mix?  I realize that online gaming would remain free, but I don’t think that some of the things are even worth paying for.

Sony has been talking about introducing Cross-Game Chat for quite some time now, and people are going to be pretty excited when it comes, but when they find out that they can only get it if they switch to a paid subscription, they’ll be pretty pissed.  The Cloud storage feature is essentially useless if you have a thumb drive, so that one is right out, and the extended warranty really bothers me as well.  I view it as a slap in the face for people who don’t subscribe.  If you make a product, EVERYONE should have the same warranty.  Group A shouldn’t get to have their product replace because they’re paying you a few dollars a month and then Group B is left out in the rain, I just don’t think that’s fair.

Not to mention the fact that Sony will no longer be able to use free online as a selling point for their console.  I also feel that half of the people who game today are willfully ignorant and too stubborn to do any research, so when they hear that PS3 online isn’t free, they won’t go home and research that online gaming is still free, you only pay for certain features, they’ll just think “oh well, since PS3 online isn’t free, I may as well just get a 360,” which obviously isn’t what Sony wants.

Maybe in the future Sony would be able to implement this, or they might even have to wait until their next console release, I just feel that at this time, when the PS3 has a lot of momentum, it’s a horrible idea to implement it and lose that momentum.  It’s not a matter of money at this point, but it’s a matter of integrity and image, and this service would put a huge dent in both.

What do you think? Discuss it on our forums.